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A dramatic discovery in a high-profile Winnipeg missing persons case will soon reunite two young children with their mother.

As the Winnipeg Sun reported first online on Saturday, siblings Dominic and Abby Maryk — allegedly abducted by their father in mid-2008 — have been located by authorities in Guadalajara, Mexico and are soon to be returned to Emily Cablek in Manitoba.

The discovery of the brother and sister — 11 and nine years of age, respectively — following a tip from a neighbour to police in the Mexican city comes after the children were allegedly long held captive in a locked, high-security residence and rarely seen outside during daylight.

Police agencies in Mexico, overseen by Interpol, reportedly raided the Guadalajara residence on Friday and arrested Kevin Maryk, the kids’ father, and Canadian citizen Robert Groen.

“The kids were found, and everything is good to go,” Wilhelm von Mayer, a private investigator in St. Francisville, La., told the Winnipeg Sun of the children.

“They should be on their way to Canada.”

Von Mayer said he was contacted by the neighbour after police were initially slow to act.

It’s unclear what charges Maryk and Groen would face in Mexico and/or in Canada. Among the discoveries made by police at the Guadalajara home, alleged von Mayer, were “large amounts of child pornography.”

The FIND Foundation, an organization involved in searches for missing persons in Mexico, stated online on Saturday that it has played a large role in the “great international accomplishment” in locating the siblings, who had been reported missing by Cablek following a court-approved, two-week visit they had with Maryk in August 2008.

“We are extremely pleased by the outcome of this situation,” Juan Manuel Estrada Juarez, president of FIND, said on the agency’s Facebook page.

Von Mayer stressed that police in Mexico initially “didn’t do anything,” and acted on the tip only after he and FIND became aware and pressured them to investigate.

The neighbour had seen the children profiled on a Mexican television program about crime and missing persons, and recognized them.

“They didn’t go to school. They were locked up all day,” von Mayer said. “There were security cameras in the house, pointing out to the gate. That made him suspicious. So when he saw the kids on the TV show, that’s when he reported it to the authorities.”

After the Sun’s story was first published online, Winnipeg police Patrol Sgt. Monica Stothers released a statement saying the force’s missing persons unit “has been involved in a lengthy investigation with Mexican authorities” and that “significant developments took place on Friday.”

Stothers said police will reveal more on Monday.

Von Mayer said RCMP are planning to have the kids returned to Winnipeg. However, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Miles Hiebert said he knows nothing about the discovery of the siblings.

Cablek could not be reached for comment.

Mom never gave up

Emily Cablek never gave up hope that she would be reuntied with her children, Dominic and Abby Maryk — then aged seven and five, respectively — after they disappeared during a visit with their father in August 2008:

— September 2008: Cablek speaks publicly about her kids — of whom she has full custody — going missing following a court-approved, two-week visit they had with Kevin Maryk, her former common-law husband. “I have no idea where they are. I wish I had even a clue where they’d be,” Cablek says. “I just hope that they are safe and they will be returned or found.”

— October 2008: Winnipeg police reveal that they had, in late September, recovered a car that Kevin Maryk had rented. The car was found in a Winnipeg parking lot. A Canada-wide warrant had been issued for Maryk, while the Canada Border Services Agency keeps watch for him. Meanwhile, Child Find Manitoba hopes that a public appeal it has issued will bring the kids home.

— April 2009: Cablek says she’s growing more worried about her children after still no sign of them or her ex-husband. “It doesn’t get any easier,” Cablek says. “If anything, it gets harder. Some weeks I can get through the week pretty well, and other weeks I am a basket-case.”

— August 2009: Police say they suspect that Maryk might be with his nephew, Cody McKay, who could have helped him abduct the children. Around the same time, popular U.S. television show America’s Most Wanted adds the case of the Winnipeg brother and sister to its website — but does not include it on its actual program.

— September 2011: Police publicly name a third suspect, Robert Groen, and issue a Canada-wide warrant for him after long having issued such a warrant for McKay. Officers describe Groen as an associate of Maryk, and say he’s suspected to have fled the country. Also, CrimeStoppers releases a video in hopes of generating tips on the children’s whereabouts. “I miss them so much. I’ve been trying so hard to find them,” Cablek said. “I miss seeing their smiles, I miss taking them to school, I miss not knowing if they’re going to enjoy what I put in their lunches. I miss hearing them argue, (because) to hear their voices even arguing would be a blessing right now.”

— December 2011: Det.-Sgt. Shaunna Neufeld of the Winnipeg police missing persons unit says the case is “extreme,” and adds that “the stakes are even higher as we have very real concerns for the safety of Abby and Dominic.”

— May 2012: Police in Guadalajara, Mexico, acting on a tip, reportedly raid a home in that city and remove Dominic and Abby Maryk, aged 11 and nine, while arresting Kevin Maryk and Robert Groen.

Emily Cablek looks at a Child Find Manitoba missing children notice about her kids released at the Canadian Centre For Child Protection. Abby and Dominic Maryk have been rescued from a house in Mexico where they were held by their father.
SUN MEDIA photo JASON HALSTEAD/Winnipeg Sun/09/17/08

JASON HALSTEAD

Emily Cablek looks at a Child Find Manitoba missing children notice about her kids released at the Canadian Centre For Child Protection. Abby and Dominic Maryk have been rescued from a house in Mexico where they were held by their father.
SUN MEDIA photo JASON HALSTEAD/Winnipeg Sun/09/17/08

JASON HALSTEAD

Emily Cablek looks at a Child Find Manitoba missing children notice about her kids released at the Canadian Centre For Child Protection. Abby and Dominic Maryk have been rescued from a house in Mexico where they were held by their father.
SUN MEDIA photo JASON HALSTEAD/Winnipeg Sun/09/17/08

JASON HALSTEAD

Kevin Maryk was reportedly arrested in Mexico Friday night on child porn and drug related charges. His children, Abby and Dominic Maryk are being brought back to Canada to be reunited with their mother.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/ HO

The Canadian Press

Cody McKay is pictured in this undated handout photo. McKay is Kevin Maryk's nephew and is believed to be involved in the children's abduction.

The Canadian Press

Abby Maryk is pictured in this undated handout photo. Abby went missing in August 2008 during a visit with their father Kevin Maryk. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ HO